10.09.2006	It's been about a month since Sampson's surgery and his recovery is going very well. Sampson's incision has healed and he's been urinating completely on his own for the last week. He's off all the drugs. I visited him on Friday and he seemed like a normal cat again, playful, goofy, loving, it's amazing. Thank you again, to everyone who has helped get Sampson through this ... I can't thank you enough.
9.26.2006	Sampson is still with Dr. Osborne in Ocala being given the best of care ... he seems to be regaining his spirits, and with Dr. Osborne's help is starting to urinate again on his own as his bladder heals. My warmest thanks to everyone who has helped so far!
9.18.2006	Very early this morning Sampson was brought to the Ocala Vet Hospital to be cared for and have his bladder expressed regularly. It must be hard for him to go straight out of surgery and still not be able to pee. At this point the vets seem to think it's a waiting game for Sampson's bladder to heal. Boarding him up is expensive, and my finances are completely spent from the surgery.. he's really depending on donations now, please tell your friends and animal lovers about Sampson!
9.17.2006	Sampson went to the emergency clinic again today, he hadn't urinated since coming home from the vet yesterday, his bladder was huge. The doctor on call just happened to be Dr. Au, the first one to see him when he was brought in for surgery, Dr. Au expressed Sampson's bladder (basically squeezing the urine out like a water gun). Sampson's bladder is so damaged from being stretched and irritated for so long that it has very little remaining muscle tone. The doctor thinks Sampson needs to have his bladder expressed regularly, kept empty, so that the muscles and bladder lining can heal. Poor guy.. he's been through so much.
9.16.2006	Sampson was discharged from the hospital this morning, the doctors at the University Vet Hospital have tried to lower the costs of the surgery by sending him home as soon as he's stable enough (the ICU is $150/day). Right now Sampson's staying in a mansion-sized dog crate with plenty of room to move around and relax while he recovers and gets used to being a little less manly.
9.14.2006	More new pictures! Sampson had another hospital visit today, the vets still think he's recovering well but are worried about the condition of his bladder after being stretched and irritated for so many months.
9.12.2006	Sampson made it through surgery, he's alive and the vets think he's doing well. I got to visit him today, he was pretty drugged up but was purring and responsive. I took some pictures of him, they're up in the gallery.
9.11.2006	It's been a rough weekend.. this morning the head of surgery at the Vet Hospital took me in and discussed the results of his tests. An important piece of information showed up in the examinations. They could see that his urethra was definitely damaged ... which means that a perenial urethrostomy, removing the bad part of the urethra, would be a beneficial operation. The bad news is that the urethral damage was unusually high up in the urinary tract, to the point where it may make the surgery impossible. They wouldn't be able to know until they cut Sampson open. He's in surgery right now. I hope he comes out alright.
9.09.2006	Things are coming to a breaking point. Last night after having his catheter removed Sampson still could not urinate, at all. The reason for this is one of two things - 1) Sampson's urethra is so damaged from repeated catheter insertions that it can no longer pass urine, or 2) His bladder has been stretched so much for so long that his urination muscles have gone "numb". Both cases constitute an emergency because Sampson can't urinate, and it's inhumane to catherize him again and again. The only recourse now is for Sampson to go into surgery and pray. Late last night I brought him from Ocala back to the University Vet Hospital emergency clinic where he is being watched over the weekend until the full staff can look at him on monday.
9.06.2006	Over the last week Sampson has gotten drastically worse, he's constantly crying out in pain ... under the highest recommendation of my friend Pat I've taken him to an internal medicine specialist in Ocala (about a half hour south of here). The vet there was very pro-active and passionate about his work, he examined Sampson and gave me a third opinion. Dr. Osborne believes Sampson's problem is a combination of urethral blockage and Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (chronic inflammation of the bladder). Sampson had plugged again, this time having two seperate blockages in his urethra. They're keeping him overnight in Ocala with a catheter.
8.30.2006	A new section has been added with scans of Sampson's vet bills.
8.18.2006	It's been almost three weeks now in the new house, I was hoping Sampson would recover from his last episode by now but he seems to be getting worse. I'm rather young and due to financial constraints am living with three roommates, who are all putting a lot of stress down because of Sampson's incontinence problems. It's hard to blame them, but during all this poor Sampson is in constant pain.. the last thing I can think of trying is to gradually make him an outdoor cat. I really hope that the exercise and excitement of being outside will help him return to good health.
7.31.2006	Sampson went to the emergency vet yesterday morning and it turns out he wasn't blocked (thank god). I'm in the process of moving into a new place. Moving is one of the most stressful events in a cat's life due to how territorial they are ... it seems that Sampson is an especially sensitive kitty and is having an extremely bad reaction to the move. Dr. Sammy assured me that this episode would pass, and that the best thing for Sampson now is to be put in as peaceful a place as possible. I've taken to giving him chamomile extract, which is a very effective natural sedative for cats.
7.29.2006	Sampson might be blocked again. I've been dreading this for the last few months, he had been doing so good that I thought the condition might finally be healing. The telltale signs are there though; he's unable to urinate in the cat box, he's straining, howling painfully and going into involuntary spasms. As luck would have it I was laid off from my job two weeks ago, but Sampson must go to the emergency vet tomorrow.
7.20.2006	Long time since the last update. A lot has been going on since then. Sampson went back to the vet in the middle of June and again the vets had no idea what to do with him. I did a lot of internet research on wholistic approaches. A big problem with the feline urinary tract is that cats naturally don't take in very much water, their bladders become dry and infections tend to linger because there's nothing flushing them out. I've been giving him syringes of water multiple times a day, and I've switched him over to science diet wet food three times a day, just to get as much water through his system as possible. He seems to be in less pain, and he's progressively becoming more active.
5.16.2006	It seems like May is the month where all vets take their vacations. Both of the doctors familiar with Sampson have taken off this week.. I'm in limbo right now as to what medication we're going to try next. Thanks to everyone who's been donating, you have no idea how much it's helped!
5.06.2006	Yesterday Sampson started having seriously painful spasms where his entire body would seize up and little drops of urine would come out. I'm guessing it's because of the amitryptiline.. I took him off it today and his spasms have been occurring less frequently. I'm also hoping that feeding him more will make him happier.. take his mind off the pain, he's lost some weight but he's still a big fat cat at heart.
4.29.2006	Sampson's been put on a new set of medications in hopes of relieving his pain. An antidepressant called amitryptiline that's supposed to help some cats with this condition. The vet seems to think it's a long shot.. but I've got high hopes.
4.25.2006	Some folks have been asking what the goal amount is to pay for Sampson's operation. I'll put up a fundraising progress section soon.. but just so everyone knows, the operation costs $1,500. We've raised $558 so far, over a third of the way there! My heart goes out to everyone who's donated.
4.23.2006	Sampsonfest was tons of fun! We raised over $200! Thanks to the bands, my friends, and everyone who came out! Seriously, thank you everybody :)
4.16.2006	Sampsonfest is confirmed! Saturday April 22nd at Tim and Terry's in Gainesville, FL. Show and barbeque starts at 5pm! Go to www.gainesvillebands.com for more info.
4.11.2006	I'm organizing a benefit show to help raise money for Sampson, it should be a blast - featuring some of Gainesville's most completely awesome bands. Check back for more info.
4.10.2006	HelpSaveSampson.com Site Launch, check back here for news updates on Sampson's condition.